In the present study, to explain illegal fishing, Agnew’s Criminology of Climate Change Theory was adopted as the theoretical framework. The study was conducted using a survey methodology, and a questionnaire was used for collecting the data. The population of the study consisted of the villagers of Fereydonkenar, an Iranian city in Mazandaran province, from whom 400 people were selected through proportionate stratified random sampling. The results of the study showed that about 53 percent (212) of the respondents had been fishing using illegal methods. The results of the structural equation modeling revealed that climate change perception and general strain had the greatest influence on illegal fishing. Also, climate change perception was found to influence illegal fishing by positively influencing the general strain.

Keywords